


Like There's No Such Thing as a Broken Heart

by dancingsweetheart129



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Heartbreak, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 21:36:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18199631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingsweetheart129/pseuds/dancingsweetheart129
Summary: “Peter,” Tony said, a warning. “Is something wrong?”“No, I,” Peter shook his head, his voice cracking. “Nothing.”“Honey, did something happen at school?” Tony asked, venturing a guess. His guess was confirmed when Peter finally looked at him, his eyes wide and bottom lip trembling. “Petey, what-“Before Tony could finish asking him what he was upset about, Peter took off running down the hall. He had enough time to blink before his bedroom door was slamming shut.





	Like There's No Such Thing as a Broken Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I had such a desire to see this that I had to write it myself so. Here it is.

Tony was busy washing dishes when Friday alerted him that Peter was home from school and on his way up. The man smiled. Peter had decathlon practice after school, so that meant he was home a little later. It also meant that instead of hiding in the lab when he got home, he’d come up and do his homework at the kitchen table and Tony would cook something simple so that when Pepper finally came up, they could have dinner as a family.

“Hey, Pete,” Tony greeted when the elevator opened, picking up a glass and drying it before slipping it into the cabinet. “I was thinking spaghetti for dinner, what do ya think?”

“That’s fine,” Peter mumbled, so quiet that Tony almost didn’t hear him. That made him pause and turn as his son slowly pulled a chair out and set his backpack in it.

“Everything okay, kiddo?” He asked, furrowing his brows.

Peter seemed to struggle with whatever it was he was going to say, pursing his lips and staring down at his backpack for a few moments before opening his mouth and closing it again.

“Peter,” Tony said, a warning. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I,” Peter shook his head, his voice cracking. “Nothing.”

“Honey, did something happen at school?” Tony asked, venturing a guess. His guess was confirmed when Peter finally looked at him, his eyes wide and bottom lip trembling. “Petey, what-“

Before Tony could finish asking him what he was upset about, Peter took off running down the hall. He had enough time to blink before his bedroom door was slamming shut.

“Miss Potts is on her way up.” Friday chirped, and Tony sighed, turning back to the sink. He pulled the plug to drain it, watching the murky water drain.

“Hey, Tony,” Pepper called out as she walked out of the elevator, and Tony flashed a tired smile at her. She walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek before pausing. “What’s wrong? Where’s Peter?”

“In his room,” Tony sighed, glancing down the hall. “Came home and hardly said a word. Couldn’t get what was wrong out of him.”

“Maybe you should go talk to him,” Pepper suggested, squeezing Tony’s upper arm.

“Let me get dinner started, give him some time alone,” Tony nodded, reaching into one of the lower cabinets and getting a pot. He filled it with water and sprinkled some salt in it before setting it on a burner and turning it on. “If that starts to boil before I get back, can you put the box of pasta in it?”

“Sure,” Pepper nodded, settling down at the table and opening a folder. Working dinners were actually Tony’s favorite. It was nice to bounce ideas and answers off of each other.

“Thanks,” Tony kissed the top of her head before he followed in his son’s path down the hall. He paused at the door with the sign that said ‘Peter’s Room’, still a ghost of his adolescence. He held up a hand and gently knocked on the door. “Pete, is everything okay?”

Tony heard Peter’s muffled reply, couldn’t quite make it out.

“I’m coming in,” Tony announced, turning the door handle and pushing it open. Peter was lying face down in his bed, face buried in his pillow. “Do you want to talk about it, Honey?”

Peter turned his head so his face was visible, and Tony’s heart broke a little in the way it did when his son cried as a baby, relying on Tony to fix it.

If only it were that simple now that he was a teenager.

“Liz left school today,” Peter said with a sniff. “She doesn’t want to talk to me anymore.”

Peter turned again, arms closing tighter around his pillow and hugging it to his face. Tony smiled a little in spite of the situation. His first broken heart.

“Alright, scoot over,” Tony said, and Peter did, giving Tony enough room to sit on the edge of his bed.

“I really liked her,” Peter whined, voice muffled by his pillow.

“Oh, Petey Pie,” Tony sighed, settling his hand on Peter’s back and rubbing up and down it. “I know you did, Kiddo. It’s a tough thing you had to go through.”

“But why does it hurt?” Peter asked, and Tony chuckled.

“It’s your first heartbreak, it hurts a lot,” Tony explained, and Peter looked back at him. “But it does stop hurting, over time.”

“Dad?”

“What, Bud?”

Peter pushed himself up, scrambling so he could sit up and lean back against the wall. Tony scooted back to do the same while Peter pulled his knees to his chest.

“My chest hurts,” Peter mumbled, and Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Yeah? Feels kind of like you have something heavy sitting on your chest?” Peter nodded. “Feels like someone ripped the heart out of your chest?” Another nod. “I know the feeling.”

“You do?” Peter asked, looking up at Tony with his big, brown, watery eyes.

“Better than I would like to,” Tony chuckled, thinking of every woman who’d ever ripped his heart out. “But you know what? One day, it won’t hurt anymore.”

Peter looked down at his lap, seeming to contemplate what his father said.

“Daddy,” He whined, leaning over to be cuddled against his chest. Tony shushed him as he sobbed, rocking gently. It reminded him of all the times Peter would come running to him as a little boy, crying because someone teased him or he got hurt. Tony would scoop him up and rock him and hum to him until he was calmed down or he fell asleep.

10 years goes by way too fast.

“Do you remember when you and I went to the park and you tried to jump off the swings like the big kids were doing?” Tony asked, and Peter sniffled, pulling back to look at him.

“Yeah,” He mumbled.

“You remember how much it hurt when you fell and broke your arm?”

“Yeah,” Peter nodded.

“Doesn’t hurt anymore, right?” Tony asked, and Peter shook his head. “This’ll stop too.”

“Promise?” Peter whispered.

“Promise,” Tony kissed his forehead. He remembered that day vividly, mostly because when a billionaire runs through a playground and picks up his screaming son, it somehow turns into news. The paparazzi asked him about Peter’s arm for years.

He got a lot of flack for ‘not watching’ his four year old at the time. Joke’s on them, Peter did stupid stuff while Tony watched all the time.

“Thanks, Dad,” Peter said, pulling back and leaning against the wall again.

“Well, I’m going to go finish making dinner,” Tony said, patting Peter’s knee. “You want me to bring you in a plate?”

“’m not really hungry,” Peter shook his head.

“Okay,” Tony nodded, getting up off the bed. “Well if you change your mind or get hungry, just let me know.”

“Okay,” Peter said as Tony gave him another kiss on the forehead. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Any time, Petey Pie,” Tony said. “Love you, Kiddo.”

“Love you too, Dad,” Peter said, smiling sadly as Tony left his room and closed the door.

The pasta was almost done by the time Tony got back to the kitchen, and Pepper was scribbling her signature on something.

“Is he okay?” She asked, not looking up from her work.

“He will be,” Tony said, grabbing a jar of pasta sauce from the pantry. “That girl he likes left school today and doesn’t want to talk to him.”

“Aw, poor baby,” Pepper said, looking up at Tony. “A broken heart.”

“His first of many, I’m sure,” Tony said with a nod. “Don’t think he’ll be joining us for dinner.”

Pepper nodded and went back to her work while Tony cooked in silence. He was just setting a plate in front of Pepper when he heard Peter’s light footsteps in the hall.

“Hey, Kiddo,” Tony said, grabbing another plate. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to come have dinner,” Peter mumbled, nodding towards the table.

“Well have a seat,” Tony smiled, filling a plate and setting it in front of Peter’s normal seat.

Tony smiled when he heard Peter opening his backpack to pull out his homework, and the soft chatter of him and Pepper. She asked him about his practice, he asked her about possible mergers and buyouts. It was almost like they were a normal family.

“Dad, can I stay home from school tomorrow and help you in the lab?” Peter asked, and Tony almost, _almost_ , wanted to give in.

“No can do, Kid, you’ve got homework to turn in tomorrow,” Tony said as he sat down.

“Oh, please, Dad?” Peter asked, his eyes big and begging.

“How about I stay out of the lab until after school? We’ll order a pizza and work on stuff all afternoon,” Tony suggested, and Peter grumbled but agreed, turning back to his math book and picking up a forkful of noodles.


End file.
